So here's your Jimmy Haslam/the feds raided my beloved family business update, via Knoxnews.com:
Tenn. Gov. Bill Haslam said he knows little about a raid on Pilot Flying J headquarters in Knoxville and has “faith and confidence” in his brother's ability to deal with the situation as CEO of the company.
The governor said there was “gossip and speculation” about Monday's raid that is unfounded and unfair and “it's not fair for me to play that game.” He added, “The truth is, I don't know.”
Gov. Haslam has no role in managing the company, though he retains a substantial but undisclosed financial interest.
Also, federal agents served a second search warrant as part of the Pilot Flying J investigation.
U.S. Attorney Bill Killian wouldn't give specifics today or say where the warrant was served. No arrests have been made so far, the website reports. Mr. Killian “wouldn't say whether any arrests appeared imminent, although he indicated the search could be part of a long-term investigation.”
Meanwhile, Knoxville's business community seems pretty shaken up by the developments.
For instance, Bill Weigel, CEO of Weigel Stores Inc., said the events took him by surprise and that he has sympathy for his competitor.
“I can't imagine why they are doing what they are doing,” he said of the FBI lockdown of Pilot Flying J headquarters. “To me, it's pretty punishing to do that, especially for the people who work there. … It's very unsettling.”

This and that

By the numbers: Economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland give a lot of thought to inflation — they are bank economists, after all — and The Wall Street Journalhighlights their ideas for improving the government's inflation calculations.
The government's “core” consumer price index ignores food and energy prices, because those tend to be volatile. But, as the newspaper points out, “The focus on core inflation can be frustrating for many consumers. … Why ignore food and gas, perhaps the two items families buy most frequently?”
The Cleveland Fed economists propose a simple alternative: median CPI.
“The measure is pretty much what it sounds like: Make a list of all the price changes in a given month, stack them in order, and pick the one in the middle,” The Journal says. “The actual methodology involves an adjustment for the different weights of the CPI components, and splits housing into four regions. One month, the median CPI might be based on cars, the next month shoes.”
In March, according to the newspaper, “median CPI rose 0.1%, exactly the same as the traditional core measure. But over the past year, the median CPI is up 2.1%, suggesting inflation is running a bit hotter than the core figure of 1.9% would suggest. Over time, the Cleveland researchers argue, their approach does a better job forecasting inflation than either headline or core CPI.”
Royal flush: David Lingafelter, president of North Olmsted-based Moen Inc., is quoted in this USA Today story about bathroom “gadgets and gizmos to delight the inner-techie in you” and that are “taking cleanliness and functionality to new levels.”
The demand “is soaring in homes for bathrooms that offer touch-free fixtures, spa-like appointments and the ability to allow your personal devices to follow you seamlessly from other parts of the house into the inner sanctum of privacy,” USA Today says.
“They're asking for touchless faucets, toilets that open when you approach them and close when you walk away, toilet seats with built-in bidets like the Duravit SensoWash Starck C, programmable thermostats that let you set preferences for temperature, timing, water pressure and more, medicine cabinets with built-in televisions, music in the shower and tub, and heated tile floors,” according to the newspaper.
Consumers want the technology to be present but largely invisible in the bathroom, Mr. Lingafelter tells the newspaper. "You're starting to see the integration more of the digital technology that you can preprogram, that you can preset,” he says. “Who wants the spinning dial anymore?"
The ultimate in patient comfort: The American College of Physicians has unveiled a new educational guide for patients who suffer from acute coronary syndrome, in which blood flow in the coronary arteries is obstructed.
MarketWatch.com notes the patient guide is available for free in print form and for download on the ACP's website.
The guide “is meant to help patients solve problems with their health care and prevent hospitalization whenever possible,” according to Dr. David Bronson, immediate past president of ACP and an internist at the Cleveland Clinic.
“The best patient experience you can have in a hospital is not to have to go,” Bronson said.
What have you done for us lately? Forbes.com highlights the loyalty of fans in the NBA, and, unfortunately for Cavaliers fans, Cleveland does not fare well.
The 21st annual Brand Keys Sports Fan Loyalty Index rates Cavs fans as the 26th most-loyal in the 30-team NBA — not all that surprising, given that the index is based on factors such as “pure entertainment,” “authenticity,” “fan bonding” and “history and tradition.”
At least he's rich and famous: And here's some bonus Cavs coverage, via The Wall Street Journal.
Unless he has an epic disaster Wednesday night against Charlotte, power forward Tristan Thompson will avoid the dubious distinction of becoming the most-rejected player in NBA history.
From the story:
For most of the season, nearly 17%, or one in six, of Thompson's shots had been blocked. That's well above the 6.3%, or about one of 16, average for the league, according to NBA.com's statistical website, and it threatened Danny Fortson's 16.7% rejection rate in 1997-98, which is the highest for anyone who has attempted at least 500 field goals in a season since 1997, the earliest for which NBA.com has data.
But after working with a former player that the Cavaliers brought in to help him get stuffed less often, Thompson appears safe from the record. Entering Monday's game, his blocked-shot rate stood at 15.3%. He's now battling Charlotte's Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who gets 15.7% of his shots blocked, for the regular-season crown.
Mr. Thompson has been better since the All-Star break, the result of adding a 12- to 15-foot shot that looks kind of like a cross between a jump shot and a floater.
The Toronto native, who seems like a charming guy, takes it in stride.
"I got a girlfriend," he tells The Journal, adding that he asked her out only once. "Most women are interested in me, because I have dimples and I'm Canadian."
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